Arising Shadows
by Shikamaru123456789
Summary: When Axel is attacked by followers of Leonardo Mortis, he is sent into a spiraling adventure through the region of America, trying to lead a normal life when his parents hate Pokemon, and him trying to conquor the gyms and protect his friends
1. OC Form

If you would like to have an OC in this story, please fill out the following form in the review section. I will not guarantee that your character will be used, but I will most likely use all characters given in one form or another. Judging on the personality and traits that you have given the OC, I will also create Pokemon for them to use. Thank you.

Name: (first _and_ last)

Nickname (if necessary):

Gender:

Hair Color/Length:

Eye Color:

Personality:

Birthday (month and day):

Appearance:

Accessories:

Family: (Mother, father, brother, sister, if any… If orphaned, please write adopted parents)

**Example:**

Name: Axel Zanetti

Nickname: N/A

Gender: Male

Hair Color/Length: Light brown; usually curly, manually straightens hair often

Eye Color: Grey

Personality: Misfit; finds comfort in Pokemon; goes with the flow; apathetic

Birthday: July 24th

Appearance: Tall; baby-faced; usually wears jeans and t-shirt

Accessories: Backpack

Family: Mother (lawyer); father (lawyer); brother (doctor); sister (lawyer)


	2. Chapter 1: Get Ready

Disclaimer – I do _not _own Pokemon, but I do own all of the characters and most of the Pokemon.

Author Note - This took me a few weeks to finish, but that's because of school and whatnot. I'm hoping I can get another 3,000 words written by the end of July, but I won't know for sure. Just bare with me, here.

* * *

**Chapter One**

Whoever is reading this needs to know what happened, needs to know why things are the way they are. There's so many things that you can't realize because this is only paper, but just read this and maybe you will understand what happened. I don't know when people will find this, but hopefully it will be soon.

I straightened my hair absentmindedly, pressing the curls into the straightening machine. Some people thought of such as gay, but it really was not. Hundreds of guys straightened their hair every day, and I was just one of them. Most people at the Pokemon Academy considered me a misfit, the scene-kid that no one wanted to be friends with. And I embraced this beckoning; knowing that sooner or later someone like me would come around and we would be friends.

"_Leonardo Mortis is still on the run. He has last been spotted in the Pine Barrens where he was said to be calling upon spirits to assist him. Few arrests have been made of his men, those that call themselves Shadows, but of those arrests was the skilled assassin, Darren Burns, and his Voltrao. If you have any information on any Shadows, please, inform us at our website."_

I stared at the screen, wishing that I could do something about that. I looked down at the single PokeBall that I had. It was empty, but nonetheless, I carried it around with me in my pocket no matter where I went. I put the red and white ball into my pocket, knowing that I would use it someday, I just didn't know when. _Today, _I thought to myself almost instantly. _Today I am going to get a Pokemon._

"Axel!" my mom called up to me. I turned my head to the door, and immediately regretted it with a nice burn to remind me not to do it again.

"Yeah?" I yelled back, walking out of the door to go to the bathroom. I ran it under cool water, muttering curses as the burns were soothed.

"You have to hurry up, you'll be late – it's your _last day!"_

I sighed and turned off the faucet, looking at myself in the mirror. I had heavy, dark bags under my eyes, showing my lack of sleep. Usually I stayed up to read all night about the adventures of different trainers. It took me so long to decide if I wanted to go after the Elite Four of compete in contests. Finally, I ended up concluding that I wanted to join the Special Ops.

My feet moved me absentmindedly, leading me down the stairs. I had no use for my backpack anymore, which was now stuffed with extra clothes. Attached to it were a small tent and a sleeping bag that I would be using on my journey to defeat the Elite Four, which was necessary to joining the Special Ops.

"`Bye," I muttered under my breath, exiting.

My mother did not reply, and my father did not even acknowledge my prescience, merely hiding his face behind the _Sillars News. _I did not mind, really. The only thing he would have said he talked to me would be crude, horrible things. Whenever he did this, I pretended not to mind, but on the inside I hated his disapproval, I hated him.

I felt childish as I walked down the path, trying to hide my elasticity behind a mask of disdain for the world. The town that I lived in – Colonia – was small and only consisted of five blocks. Around that was a forest that was mapped, but only people with Pokemon trekked it, which was slim and few. The adults in Colonia despised Pokemon, and the students had to pay their own way if they wished to live a life with Pokemon, and they had to leave Colonia.

Fine by me.

That day was my last day of school. As I walked past the forest, a shift in the trees caught the corner of my eye. I turned and stared into the forest, waiting for it to move again. But instead of it being in the forest, something – some_one – _stood next to me, holding two metal bars.

"Leave," he said to me in a cold, dark, low voice. It was merely a whisper, but the intensity behind it made me want to hide in a hole and never come out.

I backed away slowly, not wanting to offend the man. _Boy, _rather, for he seemed only to be a few years older than me. His dirty-blond hair fell down upon his face, similar to my hairstyle, and covered his eyes, although I could see a strange shade of green. It seemed as if they gave off an eerie glow as he stared into my soul, deciding what was necessary to take me down and what was considered useless. He repeated the single word again with more fierceness, and raised one iron bar horizontally in front of him. The black trench coat that hung loosely around him seemed to scare me even more.

I almost broke into a sprint, but someone came to save me. He wore a black trench coat and black gloves. Red spikes protruded from his head, and he also bore two iron bars that he braced in front of him, his back to me. "Don't hurt this child," said the red-head. "You know what Mortis said. He said to keep him alive. To allow him to live for the time being. He wants to find this boy. He wants to dispose of him. _All – by – him – self."_

The boy clenched his jaw and put down his bar, allowing it to hang loose at his side. The red-head did the same and turned to me. "You better run, little boy," he said dryly, but there was a smirk upon his face. "You better run before it's too late."

And I did just that. I ran away as fast as I could, ran towards the school, knowing that those were Shadows, those were the men that followed Leonardo Mortis. I had to report them to the police – to the Special Ops. Still, something scared me about them, something strange. They had no Pokemon, which in itself is strange for a person who is trying to kill, but those iron bars. Not any of the Shadows ever used these iron bars and they were never recorded upon the news.

The school came into sight and I sprinted faster, a stitch growing in my side. I leaned against a wall where kids were gathered, and spotted a familiar face – Cole. I briskly walked towards him and spoke quickly of what happened. He stared at me with wide eyes, and the bell ringed, but neither of us moved even though everyone around us moved into the building.

"Man, that's crazy," he said finally, shaking his head. We walked towards the building and I agreed absentmindedly. "You should tell a teacher or something."

"I dunno," I said after a moment as we reached our homerooms. "I mean, I want to, but should I really make such a big deal out of this? If there's another organization out there, it'll just be another worry for the Special Ops."

"And if you don't do anything," said Cole, "they'll grow and take over."

I shrugged and entered the threshold of the room. We took our seats next to each other and looked at the board. _What Pokemon is Right for You? _was still plastered on the whiteboard from a week ago. No one bothered to wipe it off, not even the teacher who was filing through her papers, handing back things from the beginning of the year.

"Okay, class," she announced after ten minutes of nothingness. "The results have come in for what Pokemon you should choose, and you will get your Pokemon today, too!"

Everyone whooped at cheered. All of us hated being stuck in this godforsaken town, not allowed to meet Pokemon. If it were not for Professor Lark, the only Pokemon trainer in the town, we would not have this. This is the first generation in Colonia that has Pokemon. Professor Lark came about thirteen years ago, and he is probably the most amazing teacher ever. His laboratory is right above the school, and he has tamed hundreds of Pokemon.

The teacher, Mrs. Langer (who was from Boston, but wanted to teach people about Pokemon), handed out folders that contained the test that we took, our answers, our grades, and the Pokemon that would be best for us. I eagerly took mine and ripped open the manila folder. Just to prove to you that this really happened, the following is my report card. As you can see, I came out of the academy with perfect grades.

Marking Period

Strategy

Catching

Battling

Items

Berries

Cooking

Survival

First

B

A

A

B

C

C

B

Second

B

A

A

C

B

A

B

Third

B

A

B

B

B

B

A

Fourth

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

Dear Axel Zanetti,

According to the aptitude test that you have taken one month ago, we – the Pokemon Counsel of New Jersey – believe that you would be best to choose the Pokemon Cedio.

I read the one sentence over a few times, and then sealed the envelope up again. Cedio, the Pokemon that it said I should choose, was one of the few Pokemon that I had not enjoyed working with in the battling class. There were only fifty Pokemon – all of them being Cedios, Candas, and Serras. My favorite was most definitely Serra, and I wished that I had gotten that, but I had to deal with Cedio.

Now, I know what you're thinking. _Oh, it says that you can choose. _Yeah, well, not really. It says that you can choose, but you can't because of the short supply of Pokemon. The Pokemon Counsel made it so that there was just enough Pokemon for everyone.

I sighed and shared my results with Cole, who got a Serra. I envied him for a moment, and then I brightened up. "Hey, wanna trade?" I asked him.

"Dude, really?" he asked elated. "You would? I always wanted a Cedio."

The rest of the day people were called out to talk to Professor Lark to be given their Pokemon and to plan a journey that would fit their Pokemon's best attributes. After a few hours, I was the last to go since my name started with a Z. "Zanetti, Axel" was called over the loudspeaker, and I walked down to the office with a fleeting glance towards Cole. He had already gone down to talk to Professor Lark, and he was going west, south, and then east to make a full circle around America.

The Pokemon Academy started at age ten since ten year olds could supply themselves with a job to attend the academy. Even though there was a shortage of Pokemon, the school managed well enough, and everyone got their necessities. The hallway was eerily silent as I walked down. The younger children were probably having a party to celebrate their last day, but we twelve year olds did not have such luxury.

I walked up the cramped stairway to Professor Lark's laboratory, and knocked on the oak door that I knew led into a small office where the professor did paperwork. "Enter," said Professor Lark, and I turned the handle. Professor Lark sat on a chair serenely with a cup of coffee in his gnarled hands. He wore a grey coat over a black shirt, and his wispy white hair came out in a single tuft upon his liver-spotted head.

"Please, sit," he said to me. I did so, and I noticed how tired he looked. He must have talked to about forty students about where they were going in life. "So, do you know what you want to do?"

"Uh… yes, sir," I said wearily. "I would like to join the Special Ops.

He nodded, opening his desk drawer and placing a few things upon his desk. "Here is your PokeDex," he said. It had curved edges with a grey flap that covered the screen. He opened it to reveal a rather big screen that took up the whole device, and showed me how to work it. "It will also work as a GPS." He showed me the features, and the map of the region, showing me how to zoom in on different areas to show streets and whatnot.

"I believe you should go… this way…," he muttered, drawing lines upon the map.

It went from Philadelphia, north to Boston, south to Miami, west to Dallas, north to Chicago, west to Seattle, south to Las Angeles, and finally east once more to end up in New York; south of that, in Washington D.C., held the Elite Four. He handed me a PokeBall, the PokeDex, and then mutely dismissed me, but I stay seated.

"Uh… Professor Lark?"

"Yes?" he asked, mindlessly rummaging through his drawers, throwing away anything he deemed unnecessary.

And as I started the tale of what happened on my way to school, he paid more and more attention, staring at me in the face as if to tell if I was telling the truth. Once I finished, he nodded, as if to take everything in, and said, "Thank you for that. You may go." As I left, I noticed him pick up the phone urgently and pound at the numbers.

We were dismissed from class, and most people were already battling each other outside. Some people were trading, and I was one of them, giving my Cedio to Cole for his Serra. It was a fair deal, and we released our Pokemon. Serra was a plant Pokemon, and looked like just that. He had short tentacles that held him aloft, and a long, green, skinny neck that supported its green head that bore no flower since it was still not mature.

I've worked with this Pokemon during class, and it was pretty used to me. It licked at my feet, and then faced its opponent. Cole let his Cedio out of its PokeBall. It flashed brightly, and then formed into the floating flame that was barely stable. It gave a sound that I assumed was a yawn, its two red eyes floating around in the flames.

"_Tackle," _I muttered to my Pokemon, and he obeyed, ramming into the ghost-like Pokemon. Even though the Pokemon seemed transparent, it fell back when hit and Cole countered.

"You're not winning that easily," he taunted me. "_Harden."_

The air around his Pokemon rippled and became somewhat visible. I noticed that its contents became a little denser, but it did not bother me that much. We continued the battle, using only a few attacks. Even though these Pokemon have been through the thick-and-thin with us during school, they were given Everstones so they would not evolve, and drinks that refrained them from gaining strength in battle.

After a few minutes, we finished by calling off our Pokemon since we were getting absolutely no where. A few people were also battling, but the results were just the same, so a few people swarmed the forest, probably looking for Pokemon to catch. Really, there were only generic Pokemon in there, such as Navi and Cani. There could be a few Naro, Navaro, and Acerni, but they were very rare since the Pokemon usually did not bother to train or fight.

"We're not going to be able to travel together," Cole said after a little bit.

I watch Serra climb a tree as Cedio watched him, floating with him. "Yeah…," I muttered. "There has to be someone else that's traveling the same path. You'd think that they would tell you who else is going that way."

Cole shrugged and looked up at the sky. Summer was starting, and the sun was still high in the air. No clouds were in the sky, and I wished that I could just sit there for the rest of my life, enjoying the sun. After about two hours and another few Pokemon battles, we were tired and headed for our home, deciding that we would meet up at the gates of the town. Even though he was supposed to be heading west, he said that he wanted to see Boston first since there were rumors of a Voltrao sheltering there.

"Those Pokemon are amazing," he told me as we walked past the forest. "Did you ever see one?" I shook my head, and he quickly pulled a notepad from his pocket with a pencil. By the time we reached the path where we split up, he had drawn a dragon-like Pokemon and he handed it to me. I examined the paper, and it was a pretty good drawing.

He explained that from head to tail, it was about seven feet. It was skinny, with a blue flame at the end of its tail and a bird's peck at its head. Cole told me that its eyes were blood-red, and its wings extended five feet each. Spikes covered its body, and he informed me that one of Mortis's goons had a Voltrao, and it was really fast and able to handle up to three hundred pounds of weight.

The two of us said our goodbyes and left each other to go our own way. Serra was wrapped around the back of my neck, resting. I pulled out my key and opened the door, heading to my room instantly. There was no point to tell them that I had brought a Pokemon into the house, and I knew better than to exclaim it to them.

I took Serra away from my neck and placed him on my bed. "Well, Serra," I whispered, "this is where we're staying for the night."

He yawned and curled around himself, pulling his tentacles over his pod-like body. I smiled for the first time in a long time, and I pulled on my sleep pants and looked around the room solemnly. I was not returning to this place for a long time, but I did not mind that much. I yawned absentmindedly, looking over at the backpack that has been packed for ages. Without another thought, I fell into slumber.

Author Note – these are the roots at which I got the Pokemon from.

English Latin

Speed Volo

Dragon Extraho

Fire Inscendia

Water Unda

Dog Canis

Earth Terra

Plant Sero

Fly Navi/Nare/No

Dark Acerbus


	3. Chapter 2: Through the Forest

Disclaimer – I do not own Pokemon, although I do own all of the Pokemon mentioned in this story and characters except those of which are not mine.

Author Note – So I just looked at _Chapter One _and the chart that I made of Axel's grades isn't formatted correctly for the website. Even so, I don't think it matters enough to change it. Also, for those who don't understand the Pokemon names look at the bottom _Author Note_. There you can see what the names are derived from, because I used Latin roots to create these names. Along with that, nearly all characters will be put into the story. Those that are sure to be included are…

Narutosama12's _Dustin Izumi_

Slayerboy929's _Jaden Namikaze_

Templar of Honors' _Cyril Gray_

Of course, these may not be main characters, but they will most definitely be part of the story at some point or another. All of those who I promised will be main characters, I intend on keeping my promise, and if I don't I'll scold myself.

Sorry for such a long note. I hope you enjoy the story!

**Chapter Two**

The sun rose early, and I placed Serra into his PokeBall for safekeeping and so that he did not have to wake yet. I planned on catching a Navi so that I could train it to become a Navaro, and then I could fly everywhere; or maybe a Cani, so I could ride it to the places that I needed to go. I could probably catch both since I had two PokeBalls.

I left a note, but all I wrote was _Today I'm leaving. _I don't know if they cared, but on the inside, I hoped they did a little. Without a thought in my head, I walked out of the door and placed my key under the mat, not needing it anymore. I walked down the path, the sun rising above the forest where I was heading. An archway hung over the path into the forest with a warning sign that Pokemon were ahead.

I waited a few minutes at this archway, and soon Cole arrived. He gave me a faint smile before releasing his Cedio. "We'd better let our Pokemon out," he told me. "I'm going to try to catch a Navi."

I nodded and released Serra. A few other people were walking towards us, but made no attempt to talk. The two of us walked into the forest, knowing the general direction of where Philadelphia was; which was the first place that I had to head and it was also a way to Boston. We talked about stupid things, and soon enough we stumbled upon our first Pokemon.

"This one's mine," he told me. "Cedio learned a new move. Cedio, _Fire Tackle!"_ The Navi looked at Cedio as it came towards it with mild concern, merely hopping to one side to dodge it. Even so, I noticed that it had been hurt a little by the heat. "Again!" yelled Cole. Even though Navi were flying type Pokemon, its wings were not fully matured, so all it could do was glide for a few seconds. It's not really flying, but skilled falling.

The Navi seemed bored, but it could not dodge Cedio's attack this time. It fell back and climbed up a tree. At first I thought it was going to run away, but I noticed that it was gliding out of the tree. It flew – fell, rather – quite fast, its peck pointed at Cedio. "_Harden!" _Cole ordered. He knew that Cedio would not have time to get away, so the air shimmered around Cedio and his body grew dense, more compact. The bird Pokemon hit its target, and Cedio flinched backward.

"_Fire Tackle."_ The Navi seemed to sigh as Cedio came charging at it, but did not make a move to dodge the attack. Cole pulled a PokeBall from his pocket and threw it at the Navi. Just before it hit, the ball opened up and a jagged red beam extended from it and careened the shape of the Navi, pulling it in. The ball fell to the ground and shook for a moment before sitting still. Cole fist pumped and ran over to the PokeBall, picking it up.

I gave him a smile, and we continued on our way. The rest of the route was kind of uneventful, except for at one point when another Navi came swooping by. It landed in front of Serra, and they stared at each other for a moment, examining the other. They circled once, and Cole and I shrugged. I pulled out my PokeDex and examined the Pokemon. I read the inscription aloud to Cole.

"_Navi – the Gliding Pokemon_

_Navi is skilled at gliding from tree to tree, able to climb up even the roughest bark with its sharp talons. It is extremely friendly with plant Pokemon, even though its attacks are super-effective against said Pokemon. Plant Pokemon and Navi will bond instantaneously, and will willingly be caught by the trainer of the plant Pokemon with consent from said Pokemon."_

I gave the PokeDex's entry a chance. "Serra, tell Navi that it's okay to be caught." Serra looked at me for a moment, and I wondered if he truly understood what I wanted. And then an instant later, he turned to the wild Navi and made a strange gulping sound. The Navi seemed to understand, since it abruptly turned to me with its eyes closed, waiting for capture.

I gave Cole a sideways glance before tossing a PokeBall at the Navi. Right before impact, the ball opened up and a red beam shot out of the ball. It engulfed the Navi, and it sat motionlessly on the forest floor without even giving a shudder. I walked over to it and picked the ball up, releasing the Pokemon to join Serra again. "Serra, come here and get on my neck," I told him. "Navi, you get on my head."

I helped Serra to latch onto the back of my neck to face skyward, and then I placed Navi on my head to nest there and chirp with Serra's gargling noises. Cole let his own Navi out, and it rested upon his head, also, his Cedio floating contently beside him. With that, the six of us carried onward, through the enwinding forest that seemed to go on forever and ever, never letting loose to the city of Philadelphia.

Hours passed as we walked, jogging at some points to get away from a few wild Cani that we had no intention of interacting with. Surprisingly enough, we met no one else on the way through the forest. Soon enough, it was lunch time, and our Pokemon helped us gather berries and roots of plants.

Cole and Cedio set up a fire and I placed some berries into a pot to melt into a type of soup. After about ten minutes, I placed some of the roots into the liquidities of the berries to give it some nutritional content, although I knew that the taste would be quite bitter. Once it was finished, Cole poured the so-called soup into different bowls, and we all ate up. Once we finished lunch, we set off once more.

The journey took us all day, and we did not break the threshold of the forest until dusk. The Navi stopped chirping at this point, and the Cani were getting ready for rest. I looked up and saw the stars, something that I had not seen in a while. Even though Colonia was a small town, it created a lot of light pollution, diluting the stars to just show an inky, black night sky.

But here… in the forest, in nature, everything was so peaceful. I spotted out as many constellations as I could possible. I did not really understand constellations, because truthfully, you could make the stars into any shape that you wish. For example, if you look hard enough, you can turn Orion into a dragon. I pointed this out to a teacher once, but I was just ignored by her. The only thing she did was profess about my "cleverness." But it wasn't cleverness – it was just observing.

"We shouldn't set up the tent," I told Cole as we sat down to cook dinner.

He gave me a sideways glance. "Cedio, could you fetch us some firewood?" he asked his Pokemon. "And Navi, could you get some berries?" I did not know how Cedio would accomplish his task, but I did not ask. Cole looked back at me and shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not."

"Seeing that I got the better grade in cooking and identifying poisonous berries," – Cole had failed at identifying the poisonous loco berry, which I never will let him live down – "I will cook the food, and you go set up the sleeping bags or something."

He gave me a stupid smile before lumbering off to do whatever. I looked down at Serra and Navi playing, and I decided not to disturb them. I grabbed a pot and walked down a clearly marked path to find some food to cook. By the end of the path, I had collected a bunch of Pute, Ruti, and even Cru berries. Without another thought, my feet carried me back to our makeshift campsite as I staggered with the pot. When I got back, I noticed a small pile of firewood that was surrounded by rocks. On either side of the rocks were two sticks, and tied to that with lashings was another horizontal stick.

"Cedio and Navi made that," Cole informed me as I gaped at the formation. It was quite a feat for a Pokemon, and the four of them played together, crawling up trees and latching onto each other. "The ropes are some vines that they found. There's more here."

Together, we tied the pot to the top stick so that it dangled over the pile of sticks. I grabbed a stray stick from the brim of the forest and asked Cedio to light it for me. He did so willingly, and I placed it in the pile as it ate away at the bark from each stick. Soon enough, a roaring fire was going, and Cole and I set up some bowls to place the finished meal in.

Ten minutes later, the six of us ate the bitter-sweet tasting berries. Cole and I decided that while in Philadelphia, we had to pick up a cookbook with all-natural food. The two of us returned our Pokemon to their respectful PokeBalls and put them away. We crawled into our sleeping bags and stared up at the stars, gazing at the moon and whatnot. It was a full moon, so it sprinkled light all over the land. There were chirps from bug Pokemon that I could name, but I did not bother to.

Soon enough, I had fallen asleep, and I suddenly wished that I hadn't. What I saw disturbed me to the extreme, but I could do nothing about it. I tried pinching myself as I watched the scene unfold, trying to wake up, but nothing would help. It was as if I was anchored to the floor, like I was truly there.

"Give me the key," hissed the man, "and everything shall be fine."

He was in a jail cell, and I recognized the man as Darren Burns. His dark hair was cropped short, and his eyes were blood red. And I don't mean just his iris; I mean his whole eye, so that there was no pupil and no white. I felt so much anger for no reason as I stared at this man, and then I looked _out _of the cell, because I was in it, and saw another man that I assumed to be the guard writhing on the floor in pain. The scene was all too vivid as he screamed in agony.

"All you have to do is give me that key," Darren whispered mockingly. "Just give it to me."

"Why… don't you just… bust yourself… out?" the guard managed to get out.

Darren laughed, and that just made it that much worse. His laugh was scary, and I backed away from him, cringing. I got a little knot in my stomach as if I could feel the man's pain, but that was impossible. This was just a nightmare, a terror in my dreams, and I wished I could just leave.

"Believe it or not," hooted Darren, "these imbeciles actually used Nomagus iron to retain my… ah… powers." This dream was getting stranger and stranger, and I drew blood finally from my shoulder from pinching it. I didn't curse like I wanted to, afraid that the dream would make them notice me. "Even so, they cannot stop my illusionist abilities. For example… Voltrao, _Dragon Breath."_

The man's eyes widened and he screamed even louder. Finally, he pulled out his key, and I quickly sat up, clutching my chest. My heart was pounding faster than I had ever felt it pound, and I was drenched in a cold sweat. I took in as much air as possible, gasping for more, savoring the tasteless oxygen. I got up queasily and walked over to the edge of the woods, gripping onto a tree. An Iusum clambered down in front of me on a string of web protruding from its butt.

"Hey buddy," I whispered. It was no bigger than my fist, and I pet it. It gave a purring sound as its black body turned pink, and it dangled its six legs in the air as I scratched it, careful not to touch the spikes on its back. If you touched its spikes and it drew blood, a poison is released into the blood that will drive you crazy. Of course, it easy easily cured with a rocidem berry. Even so, it is hard for the victim to find such a berry while in psychosis.

I stopped petting it and went back to my sleeping bag. I was still startled by the horrible dream about Darren, so I could not fall asleep. Instead, I suffered insomnia for the rest of the night. Soon enough, the sun rose as dawn approached, giving off a show of various colors. I listened to the Navi awakening from their sleep. Absentmindedly, I gathered berries and kindle, bringing extra in case the next place we went did not contain such accommodations. Philadelphia is a city, and there were probably no berries there, much less a park.

When I got back, I managed to light a fire after about ten minutes and I allowed the berries to cook. I thought about many things, and one of those included was my family. My brother and sister were twins, and they stayed at the house until they were eighteen. They stayed in school, and then my brother went to medical school while my sister went to law school. Both my parents were lawyers, and my father usually was gone for days on business trips and whatnot, which left me alone seeing that my brother and sister had already left for higher education in Chicago.

I felt no remorse about leaving. In fact, I wanted to leave, and I had planned it all. But then by the time I decided to leave, I was eligible for Professor Lark's school, and it was a dream-come-true. I was able to travel the world, get away from that town, because for all I cared it could burn to the ground. Even though no one really talked to me, it was a small price to pay for being able to get away from there.

Cole woke up a while later, and again the six of us had a meal. It was small since I wanted to reserve the berries and roots that I had found, but it was enough to fill us. Navi perched himself atop my head once we finish, and Serra claimed my neck once more. Cole's Pokemon did the same, but his Cedio floated aside him at head-level, "talking" to his Navi in a strange tongue that involved clicking its supposed tongue that I doubted existed.

We traveled for about an hour before we stumbled upon our first town. I opened up my PokeDex and examined the GPS, using the satellite to locate where we were. I watched it zoom in on our spot, showing us a satellite image of the town we were at. Finally, words materialized on the screen on I read it aloud to Cole.

"_Scranton, Pennsylvania. It lies in eastern Pennsylvania. Scranton is a small town that has a small verity of Pokemon including Cani, Suttac, and Loc. The Pokemon Center can be found on New Deli Avenue, while the Poke Mart can be found on Broad Street."_

"We better head over to the Pokemon Center so that we can get a room," Cole told me when I put the PokeDex away. I agreed immediately, and we walked through the streets. A lot of people were walking around with their Pokemon, and some of the Pokemon I did not even recognize. There were these stout, four-legged things with pincers and a sharp tail that crawled and it almost looked two dimensional. Cole told me that he had seen it once before and that it was called Cefer and that it could burrow at high speeds through metal.

"That's crazy," I whispered in awe to him.

Finally, after a few wrong turns, we came upon the Pokemon Center and walked in through the sliding doors. It was bustling with activity as people held their Pokemon. Some suffered simple injuries such as broken bones, while others had more serious ailments that I cannot even describe. We walked past this room through another door and into the hospitality room. We got in line and waited for our turn.

"Hello," Nurse Joy said to us happily once we got to the front of the line. "How may I help you?"

Cole gave me a sideways glance as if to say _You tell her. _I sighed and said, "Yeah, uh, one room for two people, four small Pokemon."

"Yes, that will be fifty dollars," she informed me, typing rapidly at the computer. I reached into my pocket and unfolded the wads of hundreds that I had taken from my parents before I had left. They would not notice that it was gone, and even if they did, I would be the last one they expected. I handed her the money and she gave us a keycard, pointing us towards stairs. "You're on the second floor. Have a nice day!"

Cole and I climbed the stairs and found our room. I unlocked the door and we set our stuff down on either bed. Cole opened a window and we set our Pokemon on the floor to continue to play with each other. It was still early in the day, so we went out to explore the town and left our Pokemon to just play around in the room. Like the PokeDex said, it really wasn't that big of a town. There were many clothing stores and outlet malls, and we marked on our PokeDex's GPS the food stores and the restaurants so that we did not have to eat my horrible berry creations.

"This place looks good to eat," Cole said, pointing across the street. We went in and had sandwiches that made my food taste like dirt. After about ten minutes, we left and went back to the Pokemon Center and played with our Pokemon.

"We should try battling again," I said after a little bit. "Two on two, it would be fair."

Cole gave me a look and smiled. "No, it won't be fair," he told me. I gave him a quizzical look. "Because I'll be playing against you."

I gave him a smirk and we called our Pokemon outside in the back where there was a battlefield.

Author Note – these are the roots at which I got the Pokemon from.

English Latin

Poison Loco

Blue Puteulanus

Red Rutilus

Green Crudus

Not Non

Magic Magus

Spore Ludo Usum

Cure Medicor

Cat Cattus

Pincer Forecept


	4. Chapter 3: Scranton

Disclaimer – I would like to say once again that I do not own Pokemon.

Author note – Everyone, I can't tell you how thankful I am. This is the most reviews I have ever had, and I would especially like to thank Templar of Honor for that extra long review for the first chapter. Along with that, OCs should be coming up soon… actually, this chapter.

Also, I would like to mention that I do not work during the weekend, so you can just not think about updates during the weekend.

**Chapter Three**

Cole and I walked down the stairs and into the lobby and walked up to Nurse Joy. "Hey, uh, is it okay if my friend and I battle… on the field… outside?" he asked awkwardly.

She smiled and pulled a key off of a hook behind her. "Here," she said, handing it to him. "Just make sure to give it back when you're done." She talked to us like we were children that no nothing, but I did not really care. It is not like I was treated any differently before, but I still thought I deserved a little more respect seeing that I'm traveling throughout all of America without anyone except Pokemon.

We thanked her and jogged outside. The field was not that large, only about thirty feet by twenty feet. Cole unlocked the large, metal chain that was wrapped around the ten foot fence around the field, and we entered, our Pokemon already leaping from our body to check out the new place. We took sides, but allowed our Pokemon roam a few moments longer before calling them. My Navi and Serra raced towards me, and I called out to Cole.

"Are we doing a double battle?"

He shrugged and then nodded. We both got on one knee to talk to our Pokemon. "Okay, you guys," I said quietly. "I want this nice and quick. You two are gonna work together, and I want to finish Cole as quick as possible. His Navi probably won't hurt you" – I pointed to Serra – "so we can rule him out as a threat for you. His Cedio, on the other hand, will be a major threat to you, so try to stay away from him.

"Navi, I want you to climb atop the fence and just hang out there for a little bit until I tell you to swoop in. Your big job when I tell you to come down is to take out Cedio. After he's taken out, there's no major threat that could hurt you guys. Okay?"

Both of them nodded furiously and got into position in front of me. A moment later, Cole's Pokemon did the same. "Let's go," I said to him. "Navi, you know what to do. Serra, I want you to run across there and latch onto his Navi. Go!"

The two of them jumped into motion. Navi clambered up the chain-link fence while Serra trampled over to Cole's Navi. Cole ordered his Cedio to fly up towards Navi, but I ignored that for now. Navi could handle his own for the time being. At this time, I took a chance with Serra, hoping that he would know how to use "_Constrict!"_ He gave me a sideways glance, but wrapped his tentacles around Navi.

While Cole devised a plan to set Navi free, I went into action. "Navi! Swoop down and hit Cole's Navi!" I yelled. "Serra. As soon as Navi gets close, let go!"

The plan was less than perfect. Navi ignored Cedio and swept down, spiraling towards Serra and Cole's Pokemon. He was about a foot away when Serra got pecked and had to let go. Navi hopped away while my Navi rammed straight into Serra. I cursed and tried to get my Pokemon to get back into action, but it was no use. "_Fire Tackle!" _Cole ordered. "_Peck!"_ Both his Pokemon went straight for Serra, knocking him against the fence.

Before I could react, they took and Navi and started to dance around each other in success. I sighed and jogged over to my Pokemon. "Hey, it's okay," I told them. Serra wrapped around my neck and Navi perched himself upon my head, unfazed by the loss. I looked at Cole and shrugged. We both walked out of the field and I spotted a boy that was watching us. He had spiky white hair with albino-white skin. He wore a black coat trench coat over a red shirt and dark blue jeans. I spotted a belt that held a minimized PokeBall, and I assumed its space was not vacant.

He walked away, and I forgot all about him. "Uh… Axel…," Cole muttered. I looked at him, and out of the corner of my eye I spotted something that made me want to cry out in fear. In front of us was a man in all black. I recognized him immediately, with his peculiar green eyes and dirty-blond hair and two iron bars. I scrutinized the man this time, noticing that he wore all black; Black gloves, a black, zipped-up trench coat, and this time he wore a black facemask with strange designs of smoke that only showed his eyes and mouth.

"This time," he said darkly, "no one is here to interfere. C'mon, Iusum, let's capture this kid. Save Mortis the trouble."

He held out his bar, pointed at my heart. Suddenly, the top of it illuminated and out came spinning an Iusum, straight at me. I couldn't move as the Iusum made contact with me, as it crawled up my chest. Serra crawled around me, trying to knock the Pokemon off, but the thing was strong, easily knocking Serra aside along with Navi.

I gave the person a panicked looked before placing my hand underneath the Pokemon. Its claws dug into my shirt and skin, trying desperately to hang on. I cursed loudly as blood was drawn, but finally I was able to detach it, throwing it against the fence. I looked at the kid with a desperate expression, getting ready to run.

"Exendia, _Fire Wing!" _I heard suddenly. A thing came flying past, hitting the person with the very tip of their flaming wing. "Now use _Flame Chant!" _The Pokemon was so fast that I was not able to identify its features, and soon it turned into a mass of flames, going faster and faster around the man in black, creating clones that I was not sure were illusions or not. Suddenly, the multiple flames blitzed, and the Pokemon appeared out of one of the flames, throwing a fist at the man.

But right before it made contact, the person disappeared. Just like that. No flash of light, no portal, he just disappeared. I looked back at the fence to see that the Iusum had disappeared too, or at least there was no sign of it. I looked around to find the boy from earlier staring at Cole and me.

"What was all that about?" asked the boy. "He could have murdered you."

"I really don't know," I answered truthfully, trying to keep my composure. Cole seemed to be in a state of shock.

"Well… I'm Tom Westie," he told me. "This is my Exendia."

I stared at the Pokemon in wonder. It was none that I have ever seen. It stood on two legs at about five-foot five. Strangely, it wore shorts over his dark yellow legs. Its ears were pointed and it had wings that spanned about three feet total. The scariest part was its eyes, which were a blood red. It had no pupil, no white, just blood-red.

"Well, uh, thanks," I said quietly. He gave me a quick look before speaking again.

"If you need anything, just call my name," he informed me, turning on his heel to leave. "Exendia will hear. We're staying in town for another day, and then we're heading up to Philadelphia."

Without another word, the two of them walked away, and Cole and I were left to muse about what that meant. "Maybe we could meet up with him if he's going to Philadelphia?" Cole suggested. "I mean, if he's trying to get the badges, then he's probably going to Boston, too." I shrugged, and the two of us headed back to the room to discuss what had happened.

"We should really call Professor Lark," said Cole once we entered the room, looking over at the phone by the beds. "Do you know his number?" I grimaced and shook my head, kind of happy that we did not have to call him. We then pondered upon what the guy's motives were, and how he was able to just appear like that since neither of us noticed him. And then why had that Tom kid helped us?

By the time we finished talking, it was around six, and we were ready for dinner. "Just let me call my parents to let them know I'm okay," said Cole, walking over to the phone. I sat on the floor with the Pokemon, ignoring the empty feeling in my stomach, passing it on for hunger. Every so often for a holiday, Cole's family allowed me to dine with them, and I was very grateful for that. It made me feel like I belonged somewhere.

After a few minutes of "Yeah, I'm fine" and "Nah, don't worry, we're good on food," Cole hung up and we put our Pokemon comfortably around us to hold them close in town. We walked the streets a little, and then found the place that we had come upon before. We entered, and we noticed that the place wasn't as packed as we thought it would be. A waiter immediately gave us a table to seat us and Pokemon, and we placed our ordered just as quickly. In just under ten minutes, the six of us ate slowly and quietly, not sharing any more details about earlier.

I took out a twenty and placed it on the table. When the waiter walked over, we all got up and I said, "Keep the change," not bothering to conserve the money. There was no point to in reality, because like I said: I had all the money that I needed at the time. We walked out of the restaurant slowly, looking around cautiously for the disappearing person. Truthfully, I was scared to death, and I wished that I had some answers.

Seeing that it was not close to dark, the six of us walked around the town some more, looking at the different buildings. Finally, we came upon a park where we stayed longer than intended. We followed the path, and then came across a statue of memorial of some sort. We gazed at it for a moment before leaving. It was a picture of Voltrao, just as Cole had described it. On the front of the statue was written a type of poem or something.

_Cry Lye Rig_ shall arrive with _Oracle Dyer_ and _Laze Taint Ex_

_A Towhees Mist_ shall defend the Auras

_Ditz I In Mu Us_ shall rise in fraught time

_Earldom Torsion_ shall strike

_Bards Runner_ will fall

The two of us stared at the inscription, trying to decide what it meant. We probably would have stood there for hours longer, trying to figure out what it meant if it had not become considerably darker. We walked briskly back to our hotel and ordered up a futon for our Pokemon. Nurse Joy arrived a moment later with a futon from down the hall, and we set it up in a matter of minutes. Almost immediately, our Pokemon claimed it and fell asleep.

Soon enough, Cole and I climbed into our own separate beds and fell asleep instantaneously.

I was the first to awaken the next morning at about nine o`clock. I took a long shower, and by the time I got dressed, Cole was awake too. He got ready while I awoke the Pokemon and packed all of our stuff up into our bags. They were stuffed to the brim, and I had no idea how they possibly stayed together.

"We better go," I said to Cole, and he gave one longing look at the television before we reclaimed our Pokemon and emptied out of the room.

We headed down the stairs and approached Nurse Joy who was typing away at her computer. "Nurse Joy?" She looked up and gave a tired grin that she seemed to wear all of the time. Cole gave me a sideways glance, not knowing what I was doing. "Do you know any quick ways to get from here to Philadelphia?"

For once she frowned, and said, "So you're going for the badges?" I nodded slowly. "Well, I think that if you run, you can catch the twelve o`clock train. You would want to get off at Lancaster. Just take East High Street down to Wood Ave, and the train should be on your right."

We thanked her and I checked my watch. "Eleven fifty," I muttered, and looked at Cole. Absentmindedly, we both broke out into a sprint, racing to catch that train. We checked the street names, and finally came upon Wood Avenue by 11:57. I shoved a twenty into a machine and rammed at the buttons urgently. The machine rumbled, and I looked behind me to notice that rumbling had started, the tracks seeming to vibrate. I cursed at the machine, and soon enough, two tickets popped out of the bottom of the machine. I grabbed my change from the same slot, and gave Cole his ticket just as the train slid up.

The train came to a screeching halt in front of us, and about a dozen people got off, none of them kids. I nervously shuffled my feet, and we both got on. I had never been on a train, and I assumed Cole hadn't either. Both of us walked the aisle, looking into compartments that held many people. Finally, we came across one with only two sleeping people, and since all other compartments were full, Cole slid open the door and we piled in.

We did not make a sound the whole trip, allowing the two people to sleep passively. Every so often, the board above the compartment door would change the name of the town we were leaving and going to, but I did not see Lancaster at all. Neither of the men stirred the whole trip, and at one point I wondered if they had died, but I noticed the rise and droop of their stomach, so I did not share my theory with Cole. Finally, after a few hours of sleep and nothingness, the board read _Lancaster. _Within the next thirty minutes, the train stopped and we filed off. Giving one last fleeting look at the two men who both had their faces covered by hats, we got off the train, taking our first look at Lancaster.

The town seemed to be smaller than Scranton, but I could see Philadelphia on the horizon. Or at least I assumed it was Philadelphia. The sun was sinking into the horizon, and we climbed down the steps to get our bearings. No one was out on the street, and all of the shops were closed. I checked my watch and noticed that it was only 8:30ish, and Cole and I exchanged sideways glances. We looked around, trying to find the Pokemon Center.

I will admit I was a little scared that the man in black would appear again to try and kill me. Finally, we spotted the first sign of life besides a few Mur and Muris, scurrying in the alleyways. This place seemed like bad news, and the man across the street seemed like an okay guy, so we crossed the street and confronted him awkwardly.

"Do you know where the Pokemon Center is?" I asked quietly.

He stared at me for a minute behind tinted glasses. He was taller than me, about six foot one, and his light grey hair was gelled so that it spiked behind his head like he had just got off an extremely fast motorcycle. He wore silver fingerless gloves with a silver trench coat that had intricate stitching of gold that reminded me of those henna tattoos my mother would always waste her money on. He wore a belt around his waist, and the coat draped around his backside, cutting off in a triangular shape from his waist below. I could see huge muscles behind his black shirt, and I immediately regretted my decision of thinking that he was an okay guy.

"That way," he told me in a sand-and-paper voice, as if each syllable hurt his throat. He pointed down the street and I could see a large building that towered over the rest of the scummy town.

"Thanks," I muttered, and we stalked off, making sure to cross the street to get away from the man. After a little bit more walking we came upon the Pokemon Center, and we entered through graffiti-plastered glass doors. There was no one in the hospital area, and we moved to the back to see a scary-looking woman at the desk, chewing gum like a cow.

It gave Cole a look as if to say, _It's your turn, _and we approached the woman. I handed Cole a one hundred dollar bill, and the woman looked at us expectantly. She had black hair and multiple tattoos that I could see under her tank-top, and I swear to god, I would have ran from her if we did not need this room.

"Yes?" she asked in a nasally voice.

"Uh… yeah, we need a room for two…," Cole whispered. She scowled and punched at her computer. She pulled a key off of a hook and handed it to Cole.

"Have _fun,"_ she said sarcastically.

Just as we headed up the stairs, a girl was heading down. She did not look at us, but I took the time to look back at her. She had wavy blond hair that looked like she just got out of a tornado, and she wore jean shorts with a black tank-top. I noticed a bulge under her socks, and I assumed it was her PokeBall. Soon enough, we found our room and walked in.

The place was absolutely disgusting. It reeked from mold and dust, and just thinking about sleeping there gave me a chill down my spine. I released Serra and prayed to god that he knew the attack I was looking for. "_Sweet Spray," _I told him. He gave me a strange look, but rose a few feet off the ground using his tentacles and released a pink powder. He pranced around the room, filling the room with the scent of flowers and wood.

We could do nothing about the mold, so we decided that it was better to just ignore the bathroom entirely, keeping the door closed at all times. Hoping for the best, the two of us left our Pokemon in their PokeBalls, not wanting them to suffer also, and we fell asleep in our clothes, wishing that we could leave this town as soon as possible. Philadelphia was so close, and so was my badge….

Author Note – Yeah, that chapter was boring, but at least important OCs were introduced! Thank you, Sporemin and Templar of Honor, for giving me this character. If anyone can guess correctly at what the inscription on the statue means and who these characters are (hint, hint), you can create a Gym Leader OC, because I still need them.

I'm hoping to get another chapter done by the end of the week, and if anyone noticed, there are about a million grammar mistakes in these chapters. I'm hoping that I can reread what I wrote once I get to chapter five and fix all of the mistakes and reload everything.

English Latin

Mouse Muris


	5. Chapter 4: Cyril and Jordyn

Disclaimer – I would like to say once again that I do not own Pokemon.

Author Note – Okay, everyone. I'm not really explaining the Pokemon as much as I should, but I was hoping that you would look at the key at the _**bottom of the page**_ to see the roots of each Pokemon since I got each Pokemon's name from fused and misspelled words in _**Latin. **_You can see what animal or thing each Pokemon derives from, and I am hoping that can help you visual them.

For example, _spore _in Latin is _Ludo Usum. _I then fused the two words (that means one thing – Latin is a strange language) to create the spider-like spore Pokemon, _Iusum._ I hope that helps. Also, I am giving such a vague explanation of the Pokemon so that you can have your own fun to visualize them however you would like. I don't really think that their shape makes much difference to the story.

And to that hater who left the horrible hate messages. I don't appreciate that. Thanks.

Anyway, on with the chapter!

**Chapter Four**

The next morning we awoke early, about six o`clock. Without even thinking about changing or taking a shower, we evacuated the room. The stench had snuck up again overnight, and I doubted that even a million grass-type Pokemon could get rid of the retched smell. From then on, I wondered what would have happened if we had just stayed in that room a little bit longer, held up our post just a few more minutes. But no matter how much I wish for these things, they cannot happen.

We went to the base floor where the tattooed woman chewed gum obnoxiously. I could not help but wonder if it was the same piece from the night before, and I did not want to find out. Without another word, we ran straight out the door – and straight into the girl from last night.

"Oh, uh, sor –"

"Watch where you're going!" she seethed viciously. "I'll get my Efmatus on you!"

We backed away from her and she tore back to the street. I looked back at Cole and shrugged, and then I slapped Cole in the chest. "She has a _knife," _I hissed at him, and then my hand whipped to my PokeBall and I clutched onto it. This place was most definitely bad news.

Cole seemed to be searching every part of the girl as she walked away, and I saw him clutch onto his own PokeBall. Without taking my hand off the sphere, I checked the compass, and we went on our way, heading towards the city of Philadelphia. The region between Lancaster and our destination seemed like a desert, with stray plants and dirt.

"Glandis, _Ice Restraint," _I heard from behind us.

I pulled up my hands to cover my face, as if that would stop the attack, and then I heard a yelp. I looked to my right, and Cole was in the same position as me. I looked around and saw three things. A Glandus, the guy from the night before, and another guy who was struggling in ice that had wrapped itself around him. The Glandis growled menacingly, its black eyes glaring at its foe. I racked my brains trying to figure out what where I had seen a Glandis before, and suddenly realize that it was the final evolution of Candas. The guy from the night before looked at us, and then at the other guy.

"Give up your Pokemon or I will kill you," he said.

"Cyril, what are you doing?" he yelled. "You used to be the best! You were going to be one of the hybrids!"

"It would be best if those Pokemon were purified," Cyril replied. "I've finally tracked down the Talbots, and they should be able to purify them. Now if you don't mind, hand over your Pokemon. Their fate with you will be much worse than if they were purified and released."

Cole and I inched away, but Cyril caught my eye and I felt like a statue. It was as if he was threatening us: move and die. Suddenly, the girl from just a few minutes beforehand appeared. When I say appeared, I mean right out of thin-air. One second she wasn't there, the next she was. She panted, and gave Cyril a small smile.

"Sorry about the wait, buddy," she said. "Is he being difficult?"

Cyril shook his head and looked back at Cole and me. "Those two… they're auras are quite powerful."

_Aura? _I had only heard that word once before, and it was used in a fantasy story. The girl examined Cole and I carefully, and I saw the knife that was sticking out of her jeans. A wave of panic flew over me, and I wished that Nurse Joy had never told us to come to Lancaster.

"Gold and blue," the girl finally said.

"The Chosen Ones!" yelled out the man.

Cyril and the girl gave him dirty looks, and he instantly shut up. "Efmatus, take some of his energy." The girl threw her PokeBall into the air, and instead of the beam being red, it was a purplish-black. It took a strange form, and the Pokemon I saw was just as scary as Lancaster, Cyril, the girl, and the woman at the Pokemon Center _combined. _It wore strange clothes, as if it was just admitted to a mental asylum. Dirty white rags willowed from its gaunt and hunchbacked body, blowing in the wind. Its skin was a dead-grey, and it stood at about five-foot. If it didn't have the hunch, it would be about six-foot.

I believe that its face was the scariest part. It was an eerie grey, like the rest of its body, but its skin was pressed against its skull. I could see the outline of its nose, jaw, teeth, and every other part of its face. Instead of having eyes, it had empty sockets, and it slid from side to side, wearing a blank expression.

And then it opened its horrible mouth, revealing yellow teeth and a black tongue, and a grey cloud of smoke was released from its mouth. An acidic smell filled the air immediately, and I placed my sleeve over my nose. The cloud moved over the man's head and wrapped around him like an air bubble. My first thought was that he was dead, that they were suffocating him, but I could see his chest rising. My stomach did a flip, and I prayed that we would be able to get away.

"Now that he is taken care of…," Cyril muttered. "Jordyn, raid him and take whatever Pokemon he has."

Jordyn obliged and walked over to him calmly. Ignoring the smoky substance, she started to pat the man down, avoiding the ice. She pulled out two PokeBall, and then handed them to Cyril. "What should we do about these two?" she asked him. "The Prophecy stated two people with gold and blue auras –"

"I don't _care _what the Prophecy said!" erupted Cyril. My heart sank immediately, and I felt sick to my stomach. Cyril was a big man, and he could easily tear any of us about. The only person that seemed unfazed by his outburst was Jordyn, and she stood stock-still, balancing her weight on one leg.

"Chill," she said simply. "We'll head over to Philadelphia with these two; we'll consult the Talbots, and then we'll see if they have anything to wipe they're memory of this… incident."

He breathed deeply for a second. "Sorry," he muttered. "We'll leave him here… give him a little taste of his own _medicine… _let's get going."

"What makes you think that we're just going to follow you?" I managed to choke out.

Jordyn whistled and looked away. Cyril stared me in the eyes, and then showed me three PokeBall that he held between his fingers. "These three Pokemon have black auras, something you can only obtain through human intervention. They are made to fight. They are monsters. They are machines. They lust for blood. If you do not follow, I will release them and be rid of you."

I nodded slowly, gaping at him. That was probably the only reason I did not run back to Lancaster and hop onto a train. We followed the two of them away from Lancaster, away from mock-safety. I looked back at the man pitifully, hoping that he would be okay. I still couldn't decide who the bad guys were and who the good guys were. Even so, if these two wanted to kill us, they had plenty of chances to do so.

Jordyn's Efmatus followed closely behind us, keeping guard. Cyril's Glandis did the same, pouncing around us. He seemed ready to assault whatever came too close, whether or not it was breathing. It felt likes hours as we walked, and my breathing started to calm, my heart feeling a little bit better. I could still hear my heart pounding in my ears, but not as much anymore. "So what kind of Pokemon do you have?" Jordyn asked. "I used to have a Glandis, but that jerk over there" – she glared at Cyril – "needed to borrow him while his Pokemon were being purified. If it weren't for the Talbots, he would have been dead."

"What do you mean?" Cole asked. "You've been talking about these Talbots and auras and purifying Pokemon and all that other stuff. What does it all mean?"

Jordyn gave a glance at Cyril, but he did not make contact. Instead, he continued to look away. The girl shrugged to herself and continued to speak. "Aura is something that some people can see… those that are _gifted. _Others can train themselves to see auras. They are the life-force energy that supplies everyone, from human to Pokemon. Auras may be taken away from things, but they always managed to return to the body. Unless, of course, if the body is dead. Therefore, the aura leaves and never returns.

"The Talbots are scientists to some extent, but they are also trainers. They have beaten all eight gyms, but they have not tried to beat the Elite Four, although they have perfect capability to take on all five at once with only one Pokemon. Well… probably not, but they're pretty good.

"Anyways, from what we know, the Shadows, Leonardo Mortis' men, – surely you have heard of them? – have learned how to extract a Pokemon's auras. This creates a space in the body of the living being, kind of like the Dementor's Kiss from _Harry Potter, _if you know such. The difference is, though, is that this space is filled automatically with something called a black aura. This aura is made of pure darkness, and we don't know where it comes from or how it is made. All that we do know is that it transforms the Pokemon – it _mutilates _them, turning them into fighting machines. They can only follow simple orders, the likes of which usually include _attack._

"The Talbots have learned how to summon the original aura of the Pokemon and restore it. Cyril's mission, and mine, is to find all mutilated Pokemon and restore their auras. The Shadows are rising in strength more every day. Mortis is trying to find… _divine _power… and he has succeeded. He has found a way to fuse human and Pokemon to create a hybrid that he has named _Grotesque._"

Jordyn looked like she was going to continue, but Cyril had stopped walking. We looked at him, and so did the two Pokemon that trailed us. "Do you hear that?" he whispered to us. I strained my ears to hear whatever sound he heard, but all I heard was a distant buzzing… was that what he meant? He cursed and started to shout orders. "Glandis, _Ice Lace."_

The blue-furred Pokemon jammed its front paws into the earth and gave a mighty roar. I covered my ears and saw the earth start to rupture around us, cracks appearing in it like glass shattering. Ice covered the earth and a ribbon of watery-ice circled the perimeter like a guard, swirling in and out of the earth. We stayed at the center of the circle, and I guessed that it was supposed to protect us, but I felt no protection at all – I felt vulnerable.

And then about ten feet in front of us, the earth erupted. I shielded my eyes as debris flew in all directions. I took a chance and snuck a peak. What I saw amazed me and stunned me. Where I heard the explosion was a hole that's diameter was no larger than a human. And then I looked next to the whole, where a woman stood… except her hands were different. Instead of human hands, she had earth-colored cylinder-type thing. It was large near her wrist and grew shorter as it went down to a point, and to my deepest surprise, both of them seemed to be slowly spinning.

She wore the attire of every other evil person I saw: A black trench-coat that ran all the way down, but her coat was more of a jumpsuit that was skin-tight. She had rounded glasses and auburn hair that framed her face, and she was smirking, except it was scary and ice-cold. I saw Cyril clench his fists and tense, and Jordyn seemed to feel the same.

"Jordyn," Cyril muttered, "get these two to the Talbots. Bring Glandis and Efmatus, too. I'll be fine."

Jordyn seemed to be debating with herself whether to follow orders or not, and I saw that Cyril had taken out two bars, similar to that of which the supposed Shadows had. "Cyril, Cyril, Cyril," chided the woman, clucking her tongue. "I saw your _fancy _work on Lucas back there. If you would have cleaned up a little, maybe I wouldn't have found you. You know that Mortis had quite a large bounty on your head. To think that you would just… leave us so easily when you were so far ahead of everyone."

"What is he talking about?" Cole asked Jordyn.

"I'll tell you once we get to the Talbots," she answered, giving the woman a worried look.

The lady's cylinder-things _transformed _into hands, just like that. No flashy light, no sound, no nothing. They just shrunk and changed shape. She pulled out two bars from her waist and held them at her side, still smirking. "Even though I don't need the bounty… why not get it anyway? It can't hurt, now can it?"

"Jordyn, get them out of here!" Cyril whispered. "_Now."_

Jordyn bit her lip, but grabbed Cole and me by the wrists and dragged us out of the circle, headed for the city. It seemed to be only a mile away to the nearest house, and I prayed that the house we were heading to was close. The two Pokemon trailed behind us instantly at our heels, and I looked back to see Cyril and the woman talking to each other calmly. And then instantly they flung themselves at each other, slashing their bars at the other at super-speed. With each contact with the other's bar came a hollow ring that vibrated through the air.

"That is a hybrid," Jordyn said between breaths. "She fused herself with a Ferce, I believe, which is the evolved form of Cefer."

Cole nor I responded, but my brain grinded, trying to connect the pieces, but nothing would work with me. I tried my best to sprint faster, but I could feel my legs tiring, a stitch growing in my side. The city still seemed so far away. "Tom Westie!" Cole yelled. Both Jordyn and I stared at him incredulously, and my brain instantly clicked into action. Tom would be in Philadelphia, he had said, and he could help us. Both of us started to shout his name, not bothering to explain to Jordyn who he was.

Suddenly, the air about ten feet in front of us blurred. We came to a sudden halt and stared the Exendia and Tom Westie in the eyes. This time, Exendia's eyes were pitch-black with no pupils or white. "What's up? You seem… stressed," he said.

"Jordyn, this is Tom," I said quickly. "Tom, Jordyn. Listen, we need to get into the city and _fast._"

Tom shrugged. "Sure thing. Where, though?"

"Wood Avenue. It's in the south side," Jordyn told him.

Tom got off Exendia's back and joined them. "Alright," he said. "Just stand still, and we'll be there in a second. Exendia, _Teleport."_

Author Note – I just got back from vacation, so I'm refreshed with a million more new ideas and concepts. I hope this chapter was better paced, and I'd like to thank Templar of Honor for your detailed reviews. I'm hoping that I can get the next chapter up in a fortnight, and there is also a Pokemon Index-type-thing that has a list of all of the Pokemon and their evolutions. I'm hoping that I can describe each Pokemon sooner or later, but I'll save that for another time.

English Latin

Ghost Effigies/Phasmatus

Ice Glacies


	6. Chapter 5: Forgetting

Disclaimer – This is the final time I will write a disclaimer – I do not own Pokemon, nor will I ever own Pokemon.

Author Note – In the Pokemon world, humans are advanced in different studies than in the world that we live in. For example, they have airplanes, but not cars. Just to make that clear. And if you haven't noticed yet, I really like the Latin language.

Chapter Five

Exendia circled us, and I saw the look of pure terror on Jordyn's face. Cole looked worried, and I could only imagine what I looked like. Tom was the only one out of all of us who were a placid, even _bored, _expression. Glandis looked sick and a growl emitted from his throat. Efmatus seemed perfectly fine as it stood hunched over.

Our breaths came out rigid and shallow as Exendia circled us faster, becoming a blur of pale yellow. We were thrown to the ground, forced to sit in a toppled mess. Tom, on the other hand, sat with one knee down and one foot on the ground, perfectly content like he had done this a hundred times over. And then I realized that he probably _had _done this a hundred times over.

Our oxygen levels were definitely depleting as I remembered that what Exendia was doing would create a vacuum-like area, void of air. My stomach lurched, churning in on itself. The thing Exendia was doing reminded me of a roller coaster during a freefall. "Don't look out!" yelled Tom over the roar of the air, but it was too late. I had looked straight at the blur of pale yellow and I realized just how fast we were spinning. My stomach gave another lurch as bile leaped from my mouth. I felt disgusted.

Just as I started to feel the true effects of the oxygen deficiency, Exendia started to slow down, allowing air to creep back in. I gulped down the air, assuming the others did the same. Finally, the Pokemon leapt from the perimeter into the circle next to Tom. "Good job," he told his Pokemon quietly. "Do you guys need me to stay?"

No one answered him for a few seconds, and I we all tried not to look at the bile that was at all of our feet. Even Jordyn, who seemed unbreakable before, seemed to be fragile in this state. Finally, she managed to stand up, and she started to talk to Tom, ranting on about how that was "totally inappropriate" and how he "should have warned us." I felt the same, but I would never have stated any of this – he had saved us about a half-hour of running.

As she rambled on, I decided to take a look at our surroundings. Tom had dumped us on a sidewalk in what I assumed was Philadelphia. Houses lined the street, each made of brick, and none of them jumped out at me to make me think that _that _was the correct house. "Look, girl, I've gotta go find a hotel that I can stay at before they're all booked," Tom finally said loudly. He jumped on Exendia's back and the Pokemon extended his wings, soaring away.

Jordyn swore colorfully, and took in her surroundings. Her face was still tinted green and flushed, but she had enough awareness to say, "This way to the Talbots."

Cole and I followed her and her two Pokemon unsteadily, and I even saw Glandis stumble a little. I looked back ruefully at the bile that was on the sidewalk, but decided to ignore it, knowing that more important things were of the essence. Only a few people had seen our entrance, and only stared at us as we walked on as if nothing happened. I felt people staring at my back, but tried to my best to ignore them.

She started counting the numbers, and stopped at one of them, scrutinizing the building curiously. "I think this is it…," she muttered, walking up the grass, ignoring the walkway that led to the steps. She stepped cautiously onto the porch and rang the doorbell as well as knocking on the door. "Angelo, Angela, Devi, whichever one of you decide to answer the door," Jordyn said to the door, "it's me, Jordyn."

I heard a _click _that signaled a latch being unlocked, and the door swung open, revealing a boy that seemed about fifteen. Actually, Jordyn and he seemed about the same age, and he considered all of us with an uninterested façade. He was tall, gangly, and seemed clumsy, but the way he leaned against the doorway made him look impenetrable.

"Well hello, Jordyn," he said softly, "and… _guests._"

"Yes, Devi," Jordyn muttered, pushing him out of the way to allow herself in the house, "there is more than one human-being in your presence. Don't have a panic attack."

Cole and I stepped through the threshold, and I saw that Devi had a smug smile on his face. "Whatever…," Devi muttered. "By the way, Uncle Angelo wants to see you. He's in the guest room with Angela."

Jordyn nodded and left down a hallway. I took the time to look around the room, studying everything. It ran about twenty feet by fifteen feet, an average-sized living room. A carpet was placed atop the hardwood floor and a coffee table above that. We stood in a small hallway with the entrance to our right and a television right in front of us, facing forward toward two couches, one against each wall. The third wall was covered by a curtain that I assumed was a window. I looked straight ahead and saw another doorway leading to a different room.

"Well… make yourselves at home," Devi said. "I'll go get you guys drinks. Jordyn will be back out in a bit. I'm pretty sure Ange, my brother, will be out in a little. He'll take your Pokemon to purify and –"

"Our Pokemon don't need purifying," I said to him quickly.

He frowned and looked to the doorway. "Then I'll just have to go talk to Jordyn and see why you're here…."

With that, he left Cole and me standing in the living room. He and I looked at each other, and I could see the desperation in his eyes. "Don't worry," I said quietly. "Everything will work out sooner or later…."

"Dude, you _do _realize that we've been kidnapped, right?" he asked me.

I looked at him, my mouth slightly ajar. He was right – we were basically kidnapped. It seemed like years ago when we were in Colonia, worrying about nothing except fitting in. Now we were being faced with the supernatural of people and Pokemon being fused together in an inhumane way. I took out Serra's PokeBall and gazed at it, wondering what would happen if I fused together with him.

Devi and another boy walked back in the room and I quickly put Serra's PokeBall away. "So… you need your memories wiped?"

Cole and I exchanged a look, and I was the first to answer. "Uh… is 'no' the correct answer?" I asked sarcastically.

The second boy laughed openly while Devi only smirked and shook his head. "I don't think so. As soon as Angela –"

"_Ange," _the second boy seethed.

"Yeah, whatever," Devi said quickly. "As soon as Ange wipes your memories, we'll bring you to a Pokemon Center where we will get you a room and modify your memory to make you believe that you got here safely and you checked into a room. Alright?"

I was just about to open my mouth when I caught sight of Ange's eyes. They were radiating a deep purple, and I took a step back. Everything around me suddenly became unimportant as I gazed deeper into his lavender eyes, trying to sort out memory from reality. My breath quickened as I felt myself fall, and someone caught me. They fell just as fast, and someone else caught us, placing us on a sofa. Suddenly, I was in a dream, trying to breathe….

"_Get up," I heard. "Get up!" My eyes flashed open, and I saw my father in front of me, enraged. I was on the ground, feeling small, tears streaming from my face. "Do you see what you did?" he asked me. I looked at the floor at my feet. Glass had grazed my ankles and face. I felt stinging._

_ I tried to speak but I could not bring myself to utter a word. My father continued to yell at me, using vocabulary that I did not know. Had I broken a vase? Yeah, that's what happened. I had broken a vase. An expensive vase. He was livid. My mother wasn't home yet. She wouldn't do anything._

_My mouth was dry as I stood in front of my father, his newspaper blocking me from seeing his face. I opened my mouth, but only a choked sound was emitted. I tried again. "Can I join the Pokemon Academy?"_

_ He lowered the paper and glared at me with his pitch-black eyes. "Do you have the money?"_

_ I held out a wad of cash – my lawn-mowing money. I had collected this money all through summer, hoping that I would have enough to pay for the Academy. By the end of the summer, I most definitely did. He shrugged and lifted his paper again. "I need you to sign this form…." I said quietly._

_ He lowered his paper again, whipping a pen out from his pocket, scratching his signature onto the page. My insides were writhing with both joy and fright as I ran over to Professor Lark's school._

_My mother was home. My father was on another business trip to god knows where. I was in my room, reading. No sound was uttered from the other rooms. I left the house without her knowing. I got back and she only looked at me. Sometimes I did not know who was worse – my mother or father._

_I was in a classroom. Everyone was talking. I sat quietly. No one stole a second glance at me. I wished someone would talk to me. But it did not matter. I was at the Pokemon Academy, ready to learn about Pokemon and go on a journey away from here. I was excited. I could not wait._

_Nothing._

_ Light?_

_ Darkness._

_ Purple._

_ Nothing._

_ Falling._

_ Flying._

_ Voltrao?_

_ Cyril? Who is he?_

_ Nothing._

_ Jordyn? Gone._

_ Who am I?_

I awoke slowly. Everything around me seemed blurry as I fluttered my eyes opened, and I felt like I had not slept at all. I tried to make a fist, and it hurt a little, as if my hands were refusing to comply. I sighed and thought about going to sleep, and noticed that the shower had just gone off. I lifted myself up from the bed slowly, looking around. My eyes finally focused and I looked around the room.

My bed was in the back left corner, while Cole's was in the back right. Right at the foot of the bed was a television set on top of a dresser. I must have forgotten to change out of my clothes since I was still wearing my clothes from yesterday. I sighed and got out of the bed, cursing when I stepped on my backpack, and then sat back on my bed, wondering what could have possibly poked me. I didn't have anything that could have hurt me in there….

I picked it up and opened it slowly, cautiously. I dumped all of the contents onto the bed, staring at what I found. There were dirty clothes that I sniffed and crinkled my noise at, making a mental note to get that cleaned. Two shrunken PokeBalls were on the bed, and I put them away from everything else. I sifted through the clothes a little more and found some chips, a few candy bars, granola bars… and a knife.

I picked it up deliberately, turning it over in my hand. It was more of a dagger than a knife. There was a small curve that was hard to notice in the think blade. The thing was heavy in my hand, unnatural. I had never held a dagger, of course. The blade seemed to be made of stainless steel, and on the hilt of the dagger was a blue jewel – sapphire. I stared into the jewel, and then noticed a little slit in the side of the handle. Carefully, I pushed the blade to the side and it slid into the sheath cleanly.

Cole walked out of the bathroom groggily and walked over to his bed, rubbing the towel in his hair. He turned to me and then looked down at the thing I was holding. A look of astonishment, curiosity, and wonder crossed through his face, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if trying to decide what words to use.

"This is a dagger," I said quietly, unlocking the blade. I handed it to him and he examined it like I did.

"Uh, yeah," he said airily, staring at the sapphire in the hilt. "_EGO patefacio prope terminus."_

"Huh?"

"It's what it says here," he told me, showing me the blade. I took it back and looked closely at the steel. Sure enough, in minute print was the inscription. I stared at it questioningly, but slid the blade back into the handle and into my pocket when I heard a knock at the door.

"Room service?" asked a voice.

I walked up to the door and opened it, spying a maid. "Uh, yeah… do we need towels, Cole? You know what? Is there anywhere we can wash clothes?"

She smiled at me warmly, and pointed towards the end of the hall to a door that read _Washroom. _"Oh, yeah, well, didn't notice that last night… we must've been pretty sleepy…; Nah, nothing else. Thanks though."

"Anytime," she said as I closed the door.

"I'm gonna take a shower… can you go wash these clothes?"

He agreed and I pointed out all of the clothes that needed washing. He took everything in a bag that he found in the room and took everything down the hall. I grabbed a set of clothes and a towel and headed to the bathroom in the room. The shower relaxed my tense muscles a little, but there was still something unsettling about everything. The warm water hit my skin and I cleansed myself from the horrible stench that had held me since the night before due to that stupid place, Lancington, was it?

It was really lucky that Tom had showed up when he had. Cole and I were in the middle of that desert and he had appeared there with his Exendia. Tom had offered to take us the rest of the way, and that was it. I got out of the shower and dried off, putting on my clothes. I exited the bathroom just as Cole got back with the clothes. We each took half of the clothes and stuffed them in our backpacks. I put my PokeBalls in my pocket with the dagger in my other pocket.

"Ready to go get that badge?" asked Cole with a smirk.

"Of course."

Author Note – Yeah, I know that not much happened in this chapter… but don't worry. The chapters before this were just to give a little insight on the situation with the Shadows and the Dawns (a working-title for the good-guys…).


	7. Chapter 6: Blake's Gym

Author Note – So this is the first gym battle, and the longest chapter yet with about 3,800 words… enjoy.

Chapter Six

Cole took out his PokeDex and set up a route for us to follow while I took out our Pokemon. Since Cole was already here, we decided that it would be smarter for him to just battle the gym leader now instead of later. Serra took his place on my head while Navi sat contently on my shoulder. Cedio and his Navi took their place around him as he set up the PokeDex, and then we were on our way.

I looked around at everything, not seeming to remember much of what the city looked like. People walked around with their Poekmon, some of which I had never seen. We followed the path, making mental notes to go back to certain places such as the food market and a telephone booth (to use the phonebook to talk to Professor Lark). The city life seemed so much different than what we had in Colonia; everyone was bustling around in a hurry, no one waved at you or said good-morning. The houses seemed cramped together, as if the architects had said, "Hey, let's just see how many houses we can all build!"

I think Cole felt the same way since he was marveling at all of the new sights, openly gaping at the new Pokemon. After what seemed like forever, we finally reached the gym. The gym really didn't seem like anything special. _Blake's Gym _was written across the top of the forest-green building, and the building seemed like the biggest one that they have in Philadelphia. When Cole and I approached it, the doors slid open to the sides and we walked straight in.

A woman quickly approached us with curly blond hair and a smile to match. "Hello, trainers!" she said cheerily. "I hope you had a _wonderful _journey. If you would, please, tell me how many gym badges you have?"

"Er… none," I replied.

Her smile didn't change as she led us forward through the room. The room was small, only a few feet each way, and when we reached the other side I saw a keypad that blended in with the wall. The woman punched in some numbers, and the wall sunk in on itself and slid to the side. In the room I saw absolutely nothing except inky darkness. "Which one of you youngsters wants to go first?" she asked.

Cole took a step away and she grabbed me by the shoulder. "How many Pokemon do you have, honey?"

"Two," I said quietly.

"Please put your Pokemon in their PokeBalls," she said in a monotone voice, clicking the keypad again. I replaced my Pokemon into their respective capsules and she turned back to me, smiling again. "This is an obstacle course. You can use both of your Pokemon once you get onto the course. During the course you will have to do battle with trainers. At the end of the course you will encounter Blake, the gym leader. Defeat him and the obstacle course and you gain the badge. Do you have any questions?"

I shook my head and she smiled even bigger, if that was possible. "You can keep your shoes out here, if you want," she told me. "It's a little muddy in there." I felt my mouth go slack, but I took off my shoes anyway, feeling embarrassed and a little wary of going barefoot in a public place. "Then in you go!" Without waiting for me to say anything, she shoved me into the darkness and I felt something cold and slimy under my feet.

The lights overhead turned on and I rolled up my jeans to my ankles, trying to clean off some of the mud. If there was one thing that my parents had drilled into me it was how to appear proper. I sighed and looked around, taking in my surroundings. I was standing in the middle of mud, obviously, and it seemed to be the only type of floor around. Behind me was the wall that I came through, and every other way was a high, ten-foot hedge. In front of me were two paths and I instantly understood what this was – a hedge-maze.

I guessed it was only fitting for the grass-type gym to have a hedge-maze, but still. If there were more obstacles than the maze itself, this was going to be a little aggravating. I had always hated mazes, but that didn't matter right then, all I had to do was get through and beat the obstacles and beat the gym leader and then I would be out…

I decided to take the path on the right, keeping both of my PokeBalls in my hands in case I needed my Pokemon on a moment's notice. I walked for about a minute, taking as my turns as I could. There was probably some kind of trick to get through the maze, but I did not know the trick and –

"GROAWR!"

I heart leapt to my throat and I cursed, staring down at the mud in front of me. I took a few steps back and then released Serra and Navi. "Okay, you guys," I said quietly, continuing to back away. "We have to beat whatever comes at us."

And a single white string shot out from the mud, attaching to the ceiling, and something burst out of the mud, splattering the brown debris everywhere. Navi and Serra shrieked and I backed away farther, staring at the Pokemon that sat atop the mud. I recognized the Pokemon as an Iusum, but it seemed so much bigger and stronger. It was pitch black with longer legs that seemed to be about two feet long each. Its body was fully armored with an exoskeleton, and the spores on its back were even larger.

"This is Magum," said a voice. At first I thought it was the actual Pokemon, which actually scared me, but then I noticed a boy on top of the hedges. He stood quite still, barefooted and all. He took a seat on the edge of the hedge and spoke bluntly. "I'm hoping that I can get rid of you here. Blake already had to deal with some brat today that wouldn't leave until she got a badge even though I ripped her Pokemon apart." When he saw my expression, he quickly added, "Not literally.

"Anyway… Magum, _Stun Spore."_

I backed away even quicker as the Magum hoisted itself on the string, its spores facing me and my Pokemon. It shuddered greatly as yellowy powder was released from its spores. "Don't breathe it in!" I ordered, grabbing Serra and pulling him away. "Navi, cut the string and from high up and then use _Peck!"_

I pulled my sleeve over my nose and stared as the powder fell to the ground. Navi followed orders, climbing up a hedge and then gliding over to the string. He attached himself to it and snapped at it with his beak. It snapped and fell limply to the ground along with Navi and Magum. Navi quickly recovered and started to poke Magum with his beak.

"Magum, _Rollout._"

"Navi, get off of there!" I yelled out. "Serra, use _Grass Knot!"_

Serra pushed his tentacle into the mud, and I hoped that he knew what he was doing. Navi wasn't quick enough, and was crushed against the mud, rolling with Magum. I cursed, and then gasped when Magum flew into the air with Navi. Navi took this chance to break off and he glided to my shoulder, ruffling his feathers. I stared as Magum crumbled on the ground when it fell. "Fall into the mud and _Rest," _said the boy.

My reflexes were too slow. As soon as I yelled to Serra to use _Grip _on Magum, it had sunken into the mud and fell asleep to recover. Serra searched around using his vines, and then I looked at the boy to see him smirking. "I think that's long enough…," he muttered more to himself than anyone. "Magum, wake up. Use _Cross Cut."_

"Serra, get back! Navi, use _Agility _and then _Slash!"_

Serra moved just in time as Magum burst from the ground, slashing wildly with its legs as if they were scissors. Navi glided from my shoulder elegantly, and then went to a breakneck speed, slashing away at Magum with his wings and claws. I saw the boy grit his teeth and he took out a PokeBall, opening it up. A red beam flew across the area in a second, enveloping his Magum and pulling it back into the PokeBall.

"Nice job," he said quietly. He tossed me a bottle of liquid and I caught it easily. "That's a potion made from rocidem berries. Give half to each of your Pokemon when they get tired."

I slipped the concoction into my pocket and nodded at him, taking the path that was farthest away from him. I continued to walk farther, not minding the mud on my feet anymore. If anything, it kept my feet warm and it felt nicer than before. And of course, as soon as I started to get used to the mud, the ground turned to grass.

Navi was a doing recon for me, going a few feet ahead. After about a minute, I felt like he was more of a scapegoat as one of the hedges opened up and sprayed a purple powder. Navi sniffed the air once before collapsing. I stared for a moment, not believing what I saw. Once the powder had disappeared, I ran towards my Pokemon and knelt down beside him.

I opened up my backpack, searching for something that would cure _Poison Powder. _I abruptly stopped, looking where the powder had come from. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and picked up Navi just in time. I leapt back just as the earth where Navi was shook and splintered with tiny cracks. The cracks grew larger and larger, and I ran straight at it, hoping to get past the thing before it was too late. I leapt over the cracks and as soon as I landed the earth opened up, spraying debris of earth everywhere.

"Cefer, _Sting Missile!"_

I turned back to look to see that the boy from before had followed me. He was sitting on the edge of the hedge just like before. His Cefer looked two dimensional, and its tail was poised over its body, shooting dull needles at us. To my surprise, Serra was able to easily keep up with me, using his tentacles to catapult him forward.

The ground right behind me ruptured again, and Cefer shot more needles at us. The hedge opened up just like it had before and shot out blue powder. I closed my mouth and stopped breathing, not taking a chance with any kind of powder. My feet were growing tired, and my lungs were giving in. I finally broke through the powder and gasped in air, taking a moment to rest.

"Cefer, _Pinch," _said the boy, and Serra and I moved just in time to avoid the Cefer.

"Serra, use _Tackle!"_

Serra slammed into Cefer and they both toppled into the powder that still lingered in the air. I cursed and ordered Serra not to breathe in the powder. I gave out a few more attacks for Serra to use, and I heard the sounds of battle. Soon enough, the powder cleared enough for me to see the two Pokemon. I pursed my lips and took a chance, hoping for the best. "Serra, _Poison Powder, Stun Powder, _and _Sleep Powder!"_

I wasn't sure if he knew any of the attacks, but I prayed that he did. He leapt out of the way, wrapping his tentacles around the hedge. He shuddered greatly and multicolored powders released from the top part of its green body. As soon as the powders were released, Serra catapulted himself out of the powder and onto my shoulder, taking in huge amounts of air.

"Cefer, get out of there!" yelled the boy, but it was no use. Cefer had already involuntarily breathed in the powders. It gave a great shudder before falling limp. The boy cursed and returned the Pokemon to its PokeBall. He gave me a glare and threw another bottle at me, full of purple liquid. "It's an antidote to _Poison Powder. _Just pour a little bit onto your Navi and it should be fine."

I nodded and said thanks before walking out of sight. I put Navi down and opened up the bottle, pouring a little onto his torso like the boy suggested. Within a few seconds, Navi had given a great shake and opened his eyes. I smiled at him and it gave a hoot before perching himself onto my head. I laughed a little, and we continued onward.

It felt like forever as we walked. I sighed and looked around; I tried to figure out if there was something different. Of course, I couldn't find anything different about this part of the maze compared to another part. The ground was made of grass again, and when I looked forward, I almost tripped. I caught myself and ran forward, staring at the piece of paper on the ground. My face contorted into a grin as I picked up the paper. On it was a map of the maze, clear as day.

I tried my best to locate where I was in the maze, and noticed that certain points were marked out by circles. There were four circles in all, and a square that was all the way in the back right corner. The paths with mud were marked with brown, the paths with earth were marked with beige, and the grass paths were marked with green. I noticed that three of the circles had a slash through them, and I assumed that they were the three traps that I had sprung before.

And then I noticed that next to the square was a photograph of a Pokemon-sculpture made completely of hedge. It towered over the hedges like a giant, and suddenly, an idea formed in my head. "Navi, climb to the top of the hedges and look for this," I said, pointing to the picture. Navi cawed and leapt from my head onto the hedge, climbing upward. He looked in every direction, and then cawed again, using its foot to point towards my left.

Another idea then formed in my head. I pursed my lips and then pushed my hand into the hedge. I grabbed a sturdy branch and pulled myself up, slamming my feet in the hedge to make footholds. I clambered up, Navi and Serra watching me with interest. Finally, I reached the top, and to my surprise, the hedges were quite sturdy and the top was as solid as concrete. I sighed and looked around, trying to figure out where I was. I looked to where Navi had pointed and saw the sculpture of the Pokemon, but I had never seen it before. I frowned at it, but took another chance. I went to the very edge of the hedge and then sprinted to the other side as fast as possible, leaping off the end.

My heart seemed to drop as I barely reached the next hedge. Serra had attached himself to Navi's back and they had glided across the hedge. "We're heading to that thing," I said, pointing to the sculpture. "Go ahead of me, but not too far."

I went to the edge of the hedge again and sprinted, leaping off the edge. This time I wasn't as lucky. I lost my footing, but managed to sink my hands into the hedge and pull myself back up. I continued to do this procedure for about ten minutes before I reached the final hedge where Navi and Serra sat contently. In front of me was the sculpture, portraying a four-legged Pokemon with a mane made of tendrils. On its backside was a tail that had a little tuft of something at the end of it.

"That's Lero," said someone. I jumped and caught myself right before I fell off the hedge. I looked and saw the boy from before. "My name's Dustin Izumi. What's yours?"

"Uh, Axel Zanetti," I replied. Navi and Serra glared at Dustin darkly.

"Blake is down there," he said. "I should probably stop you… but whatever. You better use that potion on your Pokemon before you battle him. Your Pokemon will need as much strength as possible."

"Thanks for that," I said quietly, "but I don't think so."

I took the bottle out of my pocket and threw it with all my might away from me. If Dustin was surprised by my actions, he didn't show it. Instead, he jumped down gracefully from the hedge and looked up at me. "I guess you're smarter than you look… anyway, here's a real rocidem solution. God, I can't believe I dropped that map before… and to think that you were able to get here. Whatever. Just go lose to Blake and leave. I need to sleep some more – for real."

He threw a bottle at me and it was full of rocidem juice. I hadn't noticed it when I first received the first bottle, but it wasn't the right color. It was probably a poison or something. This, on the other hand, was the correct color, and most definitely rocidem juice. Dustin walked away and headed deeper into the maze. I looked over at my Pokemon and gave them the juice to drink. They each took a little bit of the bottle each, and I could see the result that it had on them, giving them a new energy.

"Let's go…," I murmured, and jumped down from the hedge.

I walked forward toward the grass sculpture and saw that there was an inscription on the side of the Pokemon. "_Ex duodeviginti unus," _someone said from behind me. I twirled on my heel and felt Serra and Navi on my shoulders. I stared at a man in front of him, scrutinizing him. He had dark hair that fell in his eyes and he wore a green t-shirt with jeans. "Out of eight, one. It's Latin. Beautiful language, but impossibly hard to learn. I'm Blake." He offered a smile. "I guess it's time to do battle now… Lero, Leraro, let's go!"

Blake threw two PokeBall into the air and two Pokemon were released. One of them was small, as if it were a cub. I realized that the sculpture was of this Pokemon. Its mane was made of green vines like Serra's tentacles, and its fur was beige. At the end of its tail was a green bulb, and at the bottom of each of its paws was a white and lilac flower.

The second Pokemon was larger and more elegant, but definitely more deadly. The white and lilac flowers on its paws were now tangling vines that whipped around, scratching at the ground. The mane made of vines around the first Pokemon's neck was a replaced by large white and lilac petals, along with its tail's end which had budded into white and lilac flowers.

"This is Laro," he said, pointing to the smaller Pokemon. He pointed to the other one and said, "This is Leraro. Let's make this quick… Leraro, Laro, _Petal Dance._"

"Navi, use _Agility _and _Slash,_" I ordered as fast as possible. "Serra, uh… get in the middle and use _Stun Spore."_

Everything happened so fast that I could hardly tell what was happening. White and lilac petals were floating in the air, slashing around on their own. Blake's two Pokemon danced with elegance, trying to slam into Navi as much as possible. Even so, Navi was too fast, and that just meant that they were both dodging the other. Serra got into the middle of the battle and shook himself, its head opening up just the slightest. Yellow powder flew out from his bulb and he was quickly knocked aside by one of Blake's Pokemon.

"Navi, get out of there! Help Serra!"

Navi glided out just in time as Leraro and Laro froze in place, shivering slightly, trying to break free from the paralysis. Navi glided over to Serra and poked him, making sure he's okay. Serra leapt up and prepared for more battle. "Serra, use _Bind!' _

"C'mon, you two, get out of there!" Blake yelled.

"Navi, _Agility _and _Slash!"_

My Pokemon went into action immediately. Serra bounded over to Laro and attached its tentacles around its body, squeezing. Navi climbed atop a hedge and then glided down, going at a breakneck pace again, slamming into Leraro.

"Leraro, _Solarbeam!"_

Nothing happened.

"Navi, use _Peck!" _I ordered. "Serra, use _Whip!'_

Serra detached himself and started to use its vines to slash at Laro furiously while Navi pecked at Leraro.

And suddenly there was a blinding light and all I saw was Leraro whip around, throwing Navi at Laro. Navi slammed into the cub-like Pokemon and fell, and Laro leapt out of the way, leaving Serra and Navi out in the open. There was another blinding light and the petals around Leraro's throat shined greatly, and a beam of pure light flew through the air, straight at my two Pokemon.

"Get out of the way!" I managed to yell at them.

I threw my arm over my eyes and I heard a huge crash. When I opened my eyes again, I gaped at what I saw. Leraro was collapsed where it once stood, probably tired from the beating and the incredibly strong attack, but that's not what surprised me. Serra was limp _in _one of the hedges, pushed in it due to the incredible strength of the attack. But Navi stood right where he was before…

Except he was different, he had changed. Navi had grown larger, his feathers darker, grey lines striking through the feathers. His beak was a bright orange with a yellow hue, but what scared me the most were his eyes. They were pitch-black with a deadly glare. Without any orders, he flew up into the air, swooping towards Laro.

"_Bite!" _called out Blake.

Laro leapt up and tried to clench its jaws around one of Naro's wing (that's what I concluded – that he must have evolved). Even so, Naro dodged it easily, slamming into Laro and they both went hurtling towards a wall. Blake stared for a second with a smirk, and then recaptured his Pokemon. Naro looked around, obviously confused by his enemy disappearing. I took out my two PokeBall and put Naro and Serra back into them.

"Nice job," he said. He threw a pin at me. I examined it closely, staring at the leaf-shaped pin. "That's your badge. You're really… good. Resourceful."

"Thanks."

She walked over to a keypad that blended into the wall and poked a few buttons. The wall pushed in and then slid to the side. "There you go," he said. "Be safe on your journey." I nodded politely and walked through the door, back to the original room.

Author Note – Here are the Latin roots of the new Pokemon.

English Latin

Spore Iusum

Big Magnus

Lion Leo

Earth Terra

Plant Sero


	8. Pokemon Index

So since I know that it is getting a little hard to keep track of all of the new Pokemon, I have come up with a list of the current Pokemon that I will update when I see fitting. Check out this chapter whenever you need to.

**Chapter One**

Cedio - ? - ?

Candas - ? - ?

Serra - ? - ?

Navi - Naro - Navaro

Cani - Acerni

? - Voltrao

**Chapter Two**

Suttac - ?

Loc - ?

Iusum - ?

Cefer - ? - ?

**Chapter Three**

Exendia - ?

Mur - Muris

**Chapter Four**

Efmatus

Candas - ? - Glandis

Cefer - Ferce - ?

**Chapter Six**

Iusum - Magum

Lero - ? - Leraro

**Full List**

Cedio - ? - ?

Candas - ? - Glandis

Serra - ? - ?

Navi - Naro - Navaro

Cani - Acerni

? - Voltrao

Suttac - ?

Loc - ?

Iusum - Magum

Cefer - Ferce - ?

Exendia - ?

Mur - Muris

Efmatus

Lero - ? - Leraro


	9. Chapter 7: Larky Dreams

Author Note – So this is an extremely short chapter, only about 1,500 words. I'm hoping to introduce a new character in the next chapter, but I can't promise anything.

Chapter Seven

"That was really… simple," said Cole.

I shrugged. "You _do _have a fire-type Pokemon," I informed him with a smirk. He gave me a sideways glance as we turned the corner and spotted a PokeMart. We made a beeline for it, knowing that after that episode, we had to stock up on some berry concoctions so that we can help our Pokemon with any problem.

We stared at the shelves, trying to pick out the most inexpensive items and trying to find the best deals. Even though we had money, we didn't want to go wasting it on the first week of our journey. After about ten minutes, we each had three bottles of rocidem juice and a bottle of every type of status-healing potion.

When we went to pay, Cole surprised me by saying something to the cashier. "Do you have the recipes for these potions? I'll give you three dollars for each recipe."

The cashier, a short and stout man, swiveled his eyes and then pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He quickly wrote down the ingredients to rocidem juice, poison antidote, paralysis antidote, and sleep antidote. Cole paid for his things and slipped him twelve extra dollars for the ingredients. I paid for my things, slipped the list in my pocket, and we left the store.

"There's a telephone booth…," said Cole; "we should probably call Lark now."

"Yeah, you're right."

Cole and I crossed over to the telephone booth and flipped through the ratty phonebook. Finally we came across Lark's name (his first name was Gordon – who knew) and I pushed some coins into the machine, typing in the phone number. The phone rang for a few seconds before a secretary picked up. After a little bit of a heated discussion, Lark answered at last.

"Axel, Cole?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"Professor, listen, there's been some… things that happened," Cole said into the receiver. We had it between our two heads.

There was a pause, and right before I was about to say something, Lark replied in a serious tone. "Axel, does it have anything to do with those men in the black coats?"

"Yeah, Professor, it actually does," I answered quickly. "Cole and I were at the PokeCenter and we just finished training when this guy with an Iusum attacked us. He said something about… not caring about orders anymore? Idunno, but the Iusum nearly killed me. Then this kid and his Pokemon – what was it named? Exendia? – Exendia came and the Iusum and the guy just disappeared into thin air. I'm not kidding."

There was another pause, and I felt my heart rise to my throat. As I went over what I said again, it sounded impossible. How could someone just disappear? It was impossible. I almost spoke up again to say that I was just kidding around, but he spoke again. "I believe you, Axel. These people are _true _Shadows, true followers of Leonardo Mortis. They are telepaths. Don't worry about it for now. If another Shadow attacks you, just attack. Don't worry about laws or anything like that – aim to knock them out. They're aim is to kill you. I don't know why yet, but…

"Don't be a stranger, alright? Keep in touch. If things get too out of hand with these Shadows, you may have to come home."

"What?" I hollered, and tried to compose myself. "But… Professor, I… I'll be fine; I don't need to go… back."

I heard him sigh. "Axel, calm down," he muttered. "Keep your friends close. You'll need as many friends as you can get."

"Uh… yeah, okay," I said quietly. "Uh… I guess I'll talk to you later then?"

And he hung up without saying anything else. Cole and I exchanged a glance and sighed. We exited the booth and looked around, deciding that it was time to get lunch and take a rest. Naro was still aggravated that he wasn't able to get at Laro more. While I was in the room waiting for Cole to get done, the woman and I had used a security camera to find out what really happened. It turned out that Serra and gotten in the way of the way of Leraro's attack and for some reason Navi evolved.

We went back to the room first, though. We both reeked of earth and mud, and both of us needed to wash off the stench. Once we got into the PokeCenter, the attending person at the front desk wrinkled her nose at us as we passed by. We ran up the stairs to our room and opened the door. Of course, Cole managed to call the bathroom before me, so I was left to sit on the bed and stare at the ceiling.

I let Naro and Serra out of their PokeBalls, and they stared at each other for a moment before Serra got on the flying-Pokemon's back and they both fell asleep. Naro took up about half the bed now and Serra seemed to be about a quarter of his size. I smiled faintly at them and proceeded to turn on the television.

"_Leonardo Mortis is still abroad, the theory of him seeming to summoning spirits in the Pine Barron dismissed," _said the reporter. I stared for a second at the picture of Mortis, which immediately switched to another infamous face – Darren Burns. "_Burns is also abroad. He has somehow managed to escape from the high-security prison, the guard having been attacked by his notorious Voltrao that was able to appear and disappear without a trace."_

I sighed and flicked off the television, not wanting to see anymore. These people, Leonardo Mortis's people, wanted to kill me for some reason. I suddenly wondered if one day I would make the nine o`clock news, and whether or not I would be alive or not. My stomach lurched and I stared at the ceiling once more. Rain started to pummel down against the windows even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky while we were walking back. The shower faucets creaked on, and suddenly the ceiling turned to darkness and I was enveloped by sleep.

"_Your son is a telepath too, you know," said a voice that I recognized. The last time I had heard it I had been dreaming also… yet I couldn't pin down the person. The room that I was in was fuzzy and all of the colors seemed to blend together, and I couldn't make out any faces, only two silhouettes._

_ The other man gave a sigh and said barely audibly, "Is he, now? How might you have found that out, Burns?"_

_ "Nott told me, actually," said Burns. "He had an encounter with the boy, in fact. His aura is similar to yours, of course. He said that his Iusum was hooked on tight with the help of his own telepathy, but the boy was able to… pull the Pokemon off."_

_ "Pokemon are not reliable… yet again," said the unnamed man. "That is why we must create a race of new Pokemon – perfect Pokemon. These Grotesques that we are creating are merely temporary… that is why you are not included in the process. Your father is currently researching that, correct?"_

_ Through the blur, I could see Burns' face change shape, as if he were smiling. "Yes, sir," he whispered. "My sister is also researching the Pokemon in the western area of America. Hopefully she will… stumble upon something."_

_ "And they still have no knowledge of yours and my connection?"_

_ Burns' head shook. "No, sir," he answered bluntly. "They believe that I'm in Cuba…."_

_ The other man laughed darkly before walking towards the other side of the room where I assumed the door was. Right before he was about to push the door open, he paused, his body stiff. Burns stared at the man, but didn't say anything. Finally, the man twisted the knob to the door and turned with what appeared to be a smirk on his face._

_ "I wish you to pay my son a visit," he said. "Change your appearance, of course."_

_ "Of course," he said coolly._

_ "Good. Then I bid you farewell."_

"Axel," Cole said loudly, shaking me. "Axel!"

I shot bolt up, almost smacking Cole in the forehead. I could feel the cool sweat dripping from me, and I started to shiver – or was I already shivering? Cole gave me a desperate expression to which I shrugged.

"God, Axel, you wouldn't wake up," he said softly.

"Sorry about that," I said through clattering teeth, getting up. "Must've been a nightmare…. Well, I'm gonna go shower now. Then we'll go get lunch or something…"

"Axel. It's five o`clock."

"_What?" _I asked. Unbelievable – I had been asleep for five hours!

"Yeah," he said. "At first I just let you sleep, and pretty soon I fell asleep, too. When I woke up it was three-thirty, so I ordered room service and had a quick lunch. I fed your Pokemon, too. And I've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes."

I stared at him for a second, and then looked away, pulling my arms into my shirt to get warm. "Sorry," I said again. "I guess we'll get dinner and then figure out a way to get to Boston? I don't think Naro is strong enough yet to carry two people, let alone one."

"Take a shower first," he said, worry still gleaming in his eyes. "You smell, still. Earth and sweat isn't a good mixture."

I gave him a weak smile before heading into the bathroom, thinking my dream over, toppling it again and again in my head. There had been two people in the room – Burns and some other guy. But where was the room? And is this really just a dream? I sighed and looked into the mirror, looking at my sullen eyes. I thought about calling Lark again, thinking about how I failed to mention my first dream.


End file.
